The Secret of Her Forest

by Meemie

It's been five years since Brendan returned to Kells. The abbey is booming in population and everyone is looking ahead to the future. However, as time marches on, Aisling refuses to walk with it. She grows more protective of her forest everyday as the villagers expand their territory into her territory. As the war between the abbey and Aisling rages on, her past reveals itself.

16. Chapter 16: The Gift

Chapter 16

The Gift

"Come on, mother!" she grips two of my fingers in her tiny hand, pulling me along over protruding roots. My back hunches over as I attempt to keep up with her. Her quick feet weave in and out of the proud trees. She knows where to jump and where every stone or twig is and, yet, she does not look down to see what her feet are doing and where that are going. They just move like a graceful spirit all on their own. She does not travel through the forest. She travels with it.

"Please, Aisling, slow down!" I puff out. She listens and slows her pace a bit. "What is it that you wanted to show me?"

"I met a bunch of new friends!" My back stiffens and I stop suddenly.

"You what!?" She turns back and happily trots up to me.

"I met new friends! They're all really nice."

"But, how is that possible? No one lives back here!" My little daughter cocks her head to the side.

"There are plenty of friends here, mother." Her delicate, tiny fingers brush against the trunk of a tree. The gentle fingertips trace the edges and curves of the jagged bark like she was caressing it. Her chin lifts up at the canopy and she smiles. My gaze darts from her to the tree.

"Are you... friends with the tree?" Aisling pauses and starts giggling a bit.

"No! That's just silly, mother!" Much of me is relieved. Some of me is still skeptical. Then, I realize what she means by "friends".

"Oh, you mean the animals, right?" It makes sense. They must have accepted her as another creature. She has lived in the forest for years, after all.

"Yes, I am friends with a lot of them, but they're not my only friends. The forest is my friend, mother." She raises her eyebrows as I tilt my head in confusion. She further explains and takes my hand. "You're my mother, right? But, this finger-" she lifts my index finger as she cradles the rest in her tiny palm. "-is not my mother. Same with the forest. The tree is part of my friend, but it is not my friend itself." I look from Aisling to the tree and I understand her analogy. I understand her friendship with her environment. It is her sole home, therefore, her friend.

Two vibrant-colored birds fly down from the canopy and perch on Aisling's shoulder. I grin as Aisling notes their arrival and whispers softly to them in a hushed voice. "Do you think you could introduced me to all your friends." Aisling smiles and nods. It appears that I have learned two things about my daughter today. One: she is growing older and wiser to acknowledge beings that are not as they appear. Two: her gifts of connection to the earth are growing fast. Such gifts are a rarity in the supernatural powers in the hierarchy of Tuatha de Dannan gods and goddesses. I have seen such gifts before, posses some myself. The ability to connect with other beings on a spiritual level; it seems Aisling manifests just that gift.